Pros
Big applause to the merchandise buyers! We have very savvy buyers who pick truly unique and reasonably-priced items. I honestly don't work for corporate, but compared to all of the retailers I've worked with, CPWM buyers have a true knack for finding great merchandise and food/beverage items. I especially love the recognition of independent American designers, as well as products from third world countries that help to give back to organizations. I love my co-workers and store supervisors, store management, and area management. It's one of the few jobs I've had where I truly feel sympathetic for what store leadership has to deal with. Some stores might not have great management, but overall, I will say this: "Store Leads, Managers, and Area Managers--I feel for you!" Customers are wonderful! Again, not something you can say about most retailers, but except for the rare occasion, customers are overall happy, positive, and patient. If you want a job where you're on your feet and constantly moving around, then this is a great place to work. Co-workers and I have lost some weight since working here because of the constant physical movement. If you're looking for a stationary job, this isn't the place for you. Pretty flexible dress code (within reason)--only asked to wear the red apron. Great employee discount compared to most retailers. Pretty flexible schedule--though part of that is because of the company being so desperate to hire and retain employees and get shifts covered, and because corporate doesn't want full-time retail store staff to provide benefits to. We have employees who work anywhere from 5 hours to 25 hours per week.
Cons
This list being longer is what is a kick in the gut, but I really hope that corporate reads and understands... The pay is really low compared to other retailers in the area and really low considering the sales numbers the stores bring in. They're finally *starting* to catch up with others with starting hourly pay, but it's been a struggle to attract and retain new hires when other area retailers have signs outside advertising that they pay more per hour and offer more work hours--and often also offer benefits. Because of this low hourly pay rate, stores are seriously struggling to attract and retain new hires. With the pay rate offered, we either get retired ladies who like the store discount or indifferent teenagers who apply just to get a job but then soon leave us to move to another nearby retailer to work the same amount of hours for $2 to $5 more per hour. I'm not "old," but older than a teenager and don't mean to sound like a bitter geezer. It's honestly frustrating because when you pay low wages that only attract teenagers, you get entitled teens who don't care at all and will happily call out of a shift last minute to go to the beach with friends on a nice day versus work where they'd barely make $40 for a shift. These are teens who don't have to pay rent, probably don't have to pay any bills and are just working for a little extra pocket money. THIS is the type of employee Cost Plus Corporate is attracting with the low hourly pay. The company obviously does not spend money on advertising. 20+ years of living near the stores and I've never seen print advertising nor local or national TV ads. Even the local used car lot will drop some money on local TV advertising. We have customers who live within a 10 mile radius of our store and who frequently shop in the area and every single day they tell us that they had no idea we are in the area--that they only popped in because they were going to another nearby retailer and were curious about what we sold. Take that money that is not spent on advertising and reinvest it in competitive wages to attract quality employees who can passionately sell products they know and provide great customer service. We used to be able to rely upon the older retired employees to also be fine with working very part-time hours, but, they're getting frustrated that they're having to do extra work during shifts to make up for the teens who don't care and are calling out constantly. So, we're losing these older workers who really used to be proud to work for CPWM and actually cared about their job performance. (Corporate: this is an SOS call to you.) Not to say all teens are bad employees--we've had a few good ones (who left us to work for other retailers), but when a company offers such dismal pay, you get new hires who have no idea what a tagine is, or what Nag Champa is, or what a martini glass looks like, or a charcuterie tray, or know what a chaise is, or know what marzipan is. I can't tell you how many times I've heard customers ask employees--many NOT new hires--if we stock these items and have the employee say "No" because they don't know what they are. "No" is a quick answer when you don't want to bother to provide service to the customer. It's embarrassing to witness as a fan of the store and as someone who really appreciates the great work our merchandise buyers do. They also misplace merchandise in the store because they don't care, so other employees have to spend extra time putting it in the correct place, which doesn't help our productivity. I was a teenager myself, but, jeezus--teens today are a different animal, for sure. Work at a store long enough and you get an idea of what the average sale per customer is. You also get an idea of what the store pulls in for sales. Knowing the sales numbers (as any employee who cares should), and then calculating a generous deduction for expenses, dividing that by how many staff work in the store by their work hours and you have an idea of how much per employee the store pulls in. The company could very comfortably pay more per hour and be a competitive retail employer. We're not working on commission. We're also not Walmart, not Target, not a supermarket, not Dollar Tree. Why pay us less than employees at those retailers? Pay a COMPETITIVE wage, hire and train QUALITY staff who are passionate about the products and the company, and watch us be a national leader in retail. Customers recognize that we're a unique retailer and are willing to drop money at the registers. Now we employees who care ask for Corporate to recognize it. Actually, the problem might not even be Corporate, but the new owners, Kingswood Capital Management. You don't have to be a financial whiz to know that when a private-equity firm takes over a retailer it doesn't usually have a happy ending. They'll squeeze what they can, then walk away. (How wonderful it would be if CPWM could be employee share owned?)